Searchlight support



April 4, 1950 H. w. PHILLIPS SEARCHLIGHT SUPPORT "Filed Sept. 18, 1945 Invent OT v m h P0 w t w t A w m e H H y b Patented Apr. 4, 1950 SEARCHLIGHT SUPPORT Henry W. Phillips, Schenectady, N. Y., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application September 18, 1945, Serial No. 617,096

9 Claims.

My invention relates to supports or mountings for searchlights or similar apparatus, and more particularly to supports suitable for mounting searchlights and the like in locations where the supporting base is subject to severe vibration and shock. The invention is particularly applicable to the mounting of searchlights upon shipboard, and especially upon battleships and the like.

It is a general object of my invention to provide a substantially shock-proof support for illuminating apparatus such as searchlights and the like.

It is a still further object of my invention to provide a vibration absorbing support particularly suitable for mounting illuminating apparatus, such as searchlights and the like, upon bases subject to severe vibration.

It is a more specific object of my invention to provide a Searchlight support having sufficient resiliency to absorb shocks due to explosions and gun blasts on or near a battleship or the like.

In accordance with my invention the lighting unit, such as a searchlight drum, is mounted between the two spaced arms of a yoke carried by a rotatable turntable. The arms are so designed that, upon the application of vertical stress in either direction, they are so deformed that their points of attachment to the Searchlight drum are displaced vertically but not horizontally. Thus, the arms serve to cushion vertical stresses without applying any deforming stress to the drum. The turntable is mounted upon a rotatable vertical shaft which is mounted in bearings carried by a resilient pedestal. The pedestal comprises a cylindrical housing having upper and lower end plates and a base portion in the form of a resilient accordion bellows section. The upper end plate of the pedestal carries a thrust bearing in which the shaft is mounted, so that advantage is taken of the resilient diaphragm action of the upper end plate. The lower end plate of the pedestal is provided with a guide bearing in which the lower end of the shaft is journalled.

My invention will be more fully understood and its various objects and advantages further appreciated by referring now to the following detailed specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a Searchlight embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of the device shown at Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic representation of the deformation characteristics of the drum supporting arms.

Referring now to the drawings, I have shown at Fig. 1 a searchlight comprising a drum I having a light source, such as a carbon arc or the like, and a reflector (not shown) contained therein. The drum l is pivotally mounted at diametrically opposite points in bearings 2 and 3 carried by a yoke formed of a pair of upwardly extending arms 4 and 5 mounted upon a turntable 6. The turntable 6 is rotatably mounted upon a pedestal I having a base portion 8 formed as a hollow and resilient accordion bellows section. The lower end of the bellows section 8 is attached, as by bolts or the like, to a suitable base 9, such as the deck of a ship or the like.

The supporting structure is shown in greater detail at Fig. 2. As shown in this figure, the lower end plate of the cylindrical pedestal l is supported by the flat upper plate I0 integral with the resilient annularly corrugated circular bellows section 8. The cylindrical pedestal housing 1 is preferably connected to the bellows section 8 by welding, as indicated at l l. The pedestal cylinder 1 is provided also with a resilient upper end plate l2 centrally apertured to receive a thrust bearing l3. In the form of the invention shown, the bearing I3 is a ball bearing comprising a supporting ring l4 bolted to the upper end plate l2 and carrying a stationary ball race I5, and a rotatable ball race I6 connected to a rotatable shaft I! mounted in the bearing. The ball race I6 is clamped between an annular shoulder on the shaft l1 and a cylindrical sleeve l8 forming part of the turntable 6 and in which the shaft I1 is mounted by a locking nut l9. Relative rotation betweenthe shaft l1 and the sleeve I8 is prevented by any suitable means, such as a key 20. Preferably, water sealing rings 2| and 22 are provided at opposite ends of the thrust bearing l3.

The shaft l'l extends from above the thrust bearing l3 through the pedestal cylinder 1 and into a radial guide bearing 23 mounted upon the lower end plate ID of the pedestal. The guide bearing 23 comprises a sleeve 24 connected to the end plate l0 and carrying a stationary ball race 25. The lower end of the shaft I1 is provided with a cooperating movable ball race 26. Preferably, the lower end of the bearing 23 is closed by a cover 21 attached to the sleeve 24.

Intermediate the bearings l3 and 23, the shaft I1 is provided with an insulating sleeve 28 upon which are mounted a plurality of collector rings 29, through which electric current is led to the lighting unit from a plurality of cooperating brushes (not shown). Access to the collector ring assembly and brushes is provided by a removable cover plate 30 on the side of the pedestal housing I.

The turntable 6, together with the arms 4 and 5, forms a supporting yoke for the searchlight drum I. The turntable comprises a cylindrical housing of slightly greater diameter than the pedestal housing I having attached to its sides the outwardly and upwardly curved arms 4 and 5. The turntable housing is rigidly connected to the internal cylindrical sleeve l8 by a plurality of radial webs 3| connected between the sleeve and the housing. Preferably, at least four webs are provided, spaced apart by approximately 90. Preferably, also, the arms 4 and 5 are connected to the turntable housing at such points that adjacent webs 3| are equally spaced from the plane of symmetry of each arm. In practice, the arms 4 and 5 are sufficiently wide at their bases so that they engage the turntable housing over an angle of substantially 90, and strengthening webs are attached to the interior of the housing at opposite sides of the base of each arm. As previously described, the sleeve I8 is fixedly attached to the shaft IT, as by the looking nut l9, thereby rotatably to support the turntable 6 upon the pedestal 1. Access to the top of the shaft I! and to the nut i9 is provided by a removable cover 32 at the top of the turntable 6.

The yoke arms 4 and 5 are formed as tapered, hollow beams of substantially rectangular crosssectional configuration curving outwardly and upwardly from the turntable housing 6. The base of each arm is curved in a substantially circular arc through an angle of substantially 90, and the tapered upper end of each arm extends substantially tangentially from the upper end of the curved base. The arms are internally braced by suitable strengthening webs 33.

As indicated as Fig. 3, the fabrication of the yoke arms 4 and 5 in the manner described above permits deformation of the arms under vertical stress while maintaining constant the horizontal distance between the upper ends of the arm upon which the pivot bearings 2 and 3 are mounted. At Fig. 3, the solid line 5a represents the normal shape of the arm 5. The broken line 5b represents the shape of the arm 5 under a tensile stress; and the broken line 50 represents the shape of the arm 5 under a compressive stress. It will be noted that, while the intermediate sections of the arm are deform-ed both vertically and horizontally, the upper end of the arm moves in a vertical direction only from a normal posi- 7 tion 34 to upper and lower stress pos;tions 35 and 36, respectively.

It will be understood that, in operation, the annular accordion bellows section 8 at the base of the pedestal is effective .to absorb much of the shock and vibration, both vertical and horizontal, to which the apparatu may be subjected. Further vertical cushioning is provided by the resilient diaphragm action of the upper end plate 12 of the pedestal cylinder 1. This diaphragm action results from the fact that substantially the entire weight of the turntable and drum is supported by the thrust bearing l3, while the guide bearing 23 serves primarily to maintain the vertical alignment of the rotatable shaft l'l. Additional vertical resilience is provided by the yoke arms 4 and 5. The arms are designed, as previously described, to minimize variation in the horizontal distance between the pivot bearings 2 and 3. Since the upper ends of the arms 4 and 5 are maintained a fixed distance apart under stress, there is no tendency to deform the searchlight drum i to an elliptical shape.

In a practical embodiment of my invention applied to a 24-inch searchlight for shipboard mounting, the pedestal bellows section 8 was approximately l5 inches in diameter and 4 inches high. Apparatus of this size was found, under test, to have a horizontal rotational natural frequency of vibration of less than 5 cycles per second and a vertical natural frequency of vibration between 25 and 40 cycles per second. Since the frequency range of a ships propeller vibration is normally of the order of 5 to 25 cycles per second, the apparatus is not subject to the establishment of resonant natural frequency vibrations in any direction. Moreover, the mounting of the entire apparatus upon the resilient accordion bellows section 8, along with other characteristics of the mounting hereinbefore described, renders the apparatus substantially immune to violent shocks, such as gun blasts and explosive shock and the like.

It will of course be understood that the particular dimensions set forth above are illustrative only, and that my invention is in no way limited to apparatus of this particular size.

While I have described only a preferred embodiment of my invention by way of illustration, many modifications will occur to those skilled in the art, and I therefore wish to have it understood that I intend in the appended claims to cover all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A shock-resistant Searchlight comprising a drum having a light source therein, a yoke having a pair of arms supporting said drum, and a pedestal supporting said yoke, said pedestal including a cylindrical section and a base section supporting said cylindrical section, said base section having a vertical accordion shaped wall of circular cross-section for absorbing shock transmitted in any direction through said pedestal to said yoke by accordion action of said vertical wall.

2. A shock-resistant searchlight comprising a drum having a light source therein, a yoke having a pair of arms embracing and supporting said drum, and a pedestal carrying said yoke, said pedestal including a cylindrical section and a base section supporting said cylindrical section, said base section having a vertical accordion shaped wall of circular cross-section for absorbing shock transmitted in any direction through said pedestal to said yoke by accordion action of said base section.

3. A shock-resistant searchlight comprising a turntable carrying a supporting yoke, a drum having a light source therein and pivotally mounted in said yoke, and a pedestal rotatably supporting said.turntable, said pedestal including a cylindrical section and a base section supporting said cylindrical section, said base section having a vertical accordion shaped wall of circular cross-section, said base being provided to minimize shock transmitted in any direction through said pedestal to said yoke by accordion action of said vertical wall.

4. A shock-resistant searchlight comprising a pedestal including a cylindrical section provided with upper and lower end plates, said upper plate being resilient, and a base section of circular cross-section having a vertical accordion mounted in said upper end plate, a radial guide bearing mounted in said lower end plate, a vertical shaft rotatably mounted in said bearings, said thrust bearing supporting said shaft and said guide bearing maintaining alignment thereof and a lighting unit supported on said shaft above said pedestal.

5. A shock-resistant searchlight comprising a hollow pedestal including a cylindrical section having a resilient upper end plate and a lower end plate and an accordion walled base section of circular cross-section having an integral upper surface supporting said pedestal, a thrust bearing mounted in said upper end plate, a radial guide bearing mounted in said lower end plate, a vertical shaft rotatably mounted in said bearings, said thrust bearing supporting said shaft, said guide bearing maintaining alignment thereof, and a lighting unit carried by said shaft above said pedestal.

6. A shock-resistant searchlight comprising a supporting base, a pair of hollow supporting arms strengthened with internal webs and extending outwardly and upwardly from said base, each of said arms comprising an arcuate base section and a substantially tangential extension and a drum pivotally mounted between said extensions, said webs being spaced at intervals along said arms causing said arms to be deformable under vertical shock in either direction to provide vertical displacement only at said pivotal connections.

7. A shock-resistant searchlight comprising a supporting base, a pair of supporting arms provided with substantially transverse webs extending outwardly and upwardly from said base, each of said arms comprising a tapered arcuate base portion with a substantially tangential tapered extension, and a drum having a light therein pivotally mounted on said arms at the ends of said extensions, whereby longitudinal shock in either direction so deforms said arms that said ends of said extensions are displaced longitudinally only.

8. In a shock-resistant searchlight, a turntable having spaced hollow arms, a drum having a light therein pivotally mounted between said arms, said arms being strengthened with internal webs so as to deflect vertically under shock without lateral deformation toward or away from each other thereby to prevent deformation of said drum, a supporting pedestal for said turntable carrying spaced bearings, a shaft in said turntable mounted in said bearings for pivotally mounting said turntable on said pedestal, said pedestal having an accordion base section provided with an integral top plate to absorb shock in any direction to protect said drum and light.

9. In a shock-resistant searchlight, a hollow pedestal comprising a cylindrical section having a resilient upper end plate, a lower end plate and a peripherally corrugated base portion provided with an integral top plate supporting said cylindrical section, a vertical shaft, a thrust bearing mounted in said upper plate and rotatably supporting said shaft, a guide bearing mounted in said lower plate and engaging said shaft, a hollow internally ribbed yoke comprising a pair of spaced-apart arms mounted upon said shaft and a drum having a light therein carried by said yoke.

HENRY W. PHILLIPS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,745,853 Krantz Feb. 4, 1930 1,897,768 Rogers Feb. 14, 1933 1,929,016 Crossley Oct. 3, 1933 1,934,576 Watts Nov. 7, 1933 2,018,860 Lord Oct. 29, 1935 2,064,751 Hussman Dec. 15, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 184,508 Great Britain Aug. 15, 1922 230,529 Germany 1911 

